Trampled by Turtles

“There is something generous about the way they play. They make room for each other, they serve the song, yet at times seem to ride the chaotic edge of stringed oblivion. It is the sound of joy; the kind of joy that the truth gives you, even when it’s a hard thing to hear.” – Alan Sparhawk, Producer

Duluth, Minnesota’s Trampled by Turtles (AKA: TBT), is likely best known for its unbridled passion, fast-paced songs and plaintive ballads. Their organic sound pushes the band into a grey area between genres that defies pigeonholing, though Wiki describes it as “bluegrass/folk-rock”. Each member has a part in the arrangement that leans on and enhances the others, always serving the song. The message is not about individuals – it’s about what can be done when people get together, apply their heart and soul, and make a little room for each other.

Erik Berry says of the band’s chemistry, “From the earliest times we started playing, there has always been a real hard-to-define quality about our chemistry, something special. It’s been a treat to find that more than ten years in we still can turn new corners, at least new-to-us corners, together in the way we approach a song or a sound and still with that quality. That something that makes us, us.”

The band members have referenced inspirations such as Townes Van Zandt, Bob Dylan, Neil Young, and Ralph Stanley. Their fifth release, Palomino, held a Top 10 position on the Billboard bluegrass charts for 52 straight weeks.

Their last release, Wild Animals is the sound of a band that continues to grow and reach new heights after a decade of touring together. The album captures the intense nature that goes with being alive, melding the universal and the personal.

Their high-energy concerts have attracted an ever-growing word-of-mouth legion of diehard fans to their must-see-to-believe live shows.